d
for a time all appeared confusion.

Then came severe, cruel, merciless criticisms; deserved in some cases
no doubt, but certainly not everywhere. The faults, gaps, failures,
were everywhere to be seen, and it was easy to see and to say what
ought to have been done. But the situation at Camp Wikoff from August
15th to Sep. 15th needed more than censure; it needed help. The men
who were working for the Government in both the medical and commissary
departments needed assistance; the former in the way of nurses, and
the latter in the way of appropriate food. The censure and exposure
indulged in by the press may have contributed to direct the attention
of the benevolently disposed to the conditions in the camp.

Then came the era of ample help; from Massachusetts; from New York, in
a word, from all over the country. The Merchants' Relief Association
poured in its thousands of dollars worth of supplies, bringing them to
the camp and distributing them generously and wisely. The Women's
Patriotic Relief, the Women's War Relief, the International
Brotherhood League, and the powerful Red Cross Society, all poured in
food and comforts for the sick thousands. Besides these great
organizations there were also the spontaneous offerings of the people,
many of them generously distributed by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle's
active representatives. The tent of that journal was an excellent
way-mark and a veritable house of the good shepherd for many a lost
wanderer, as well as a place of comfort, cheer and rest. The work done
was very valuable and highly appreciated.

To the medical department came the trained hand of the female nurse.
No one who saw these calm-faced, white-hooded sisters, or the cheery
cheeked, white capped nurses from the schools, could fail to see that
they were in the right place. The sick soldier's lot was brightened
greatly when the gentle female nurse came to his cot. Woman can never
be robbed of her right to nurse. This is one of the lessons taught by
the Hispano-American War.

This vast army has been handled. No yellow fever has been spread. The
general health has been restored. The disabled are mostly housed in
hospitals, and many of them are on the road to recovery. Some have
died; some are on furlough, and many have gone to their homes.

The regulars are repairing to their stations quite invigorated, and
greatly helped in many ways by the kind treatment they have received.
Camp Wikoff was not a failure; but